Point Buchon Pinnacles
San Luis Obispo · San Luis Obispo County · California
This is an artistic rendering. Not a real photo of the site.
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As of Sep 11, 11:15 PM PT · latest availableThe clarity holds through the day, with a light afternoon onshore the only disturbance to the entry shallows.
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35.237° N · 120.907° W
San Luis Obispo County, CA
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Open in Apple MapsAbout Point Buchon Pinnacles
Point Buchon Pinnacles is an offshore pinnacle dive site about 8 miles south of the Morro Bay breakwater, inside the Point Buchon State Marine Reserve. The pinnacle rises sharply from a surrounding floor at 100 feet or more to a top at roughly 40 feet, with sheer faces, ledges, and crevices along the rock. Access is boat-only. Charter and private boats run from Morro Bay Harbor.
The hard rock of the pinnacle itself, rising from a floor at 100 feet or more to a summit at roughly 40 feet, is the pinnacles biome here. The open blue water around and above the structure, where larger fish and seasonal pelagic species transit, is a pelagic biome.
Scuba is the only activity. Currents are strong, and the offshore exposure puts the site out of reach on any moderate swell. The combination of depth, current, and exposure places it outside the range of novice divers.
The Point Buchon State Marine Reserve covers the coast from Coon Creek south to Diablo Canyon and extends offshore across the entire site. All take has been prohibited inside the reserve since its establishment, so hook-and-line fishing and spearfishing are illegal at Point Buchon Pinnacles.
Pinnacles
The pinnacles biome is isolated rock that rises steeply out of deeper water, from nearshore spires to the tops of offshore banks and seamounts. Current accelerates over the structure and delivers food to it, which concentrates filter feeders on the rock and gamefish in the water above it. Learn more about this biome and the species found in it by clicking the link below.
Learn more in the Biome Glossary
Pelagic
The pelagic biome is open water away from the bottom and from structure. It is the realm of fast, schooling fish and the large predators that follow them in from deeper water. Learn more about this biome and the species found in it by clicking the link below.
Learn more in the Biome GlossarySnorkel Species Report
Nearby beaches
Rocky Reef
Kelp Forest
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